Beauty and the Beast

These dramatic images belong to photographer Mitchell Feinberg who took them for The New York Times as illustrations for an article titled "Against Meat—The Fruit of Family Trees" by novelist (Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) Jonathan Safran Foer. The article is adapted from his forthcoming non-fiction book, Eating Animals, due out in November. The book is a chronicle of Foer's family's transition to a vegan lifestyle vis-a-vis a fresh look at the factory farming industry in America. If I get yelled at for using the pics without permission, I'll take them down. They are such a stark illustration of the contrast between the best and worst of food that I was compelled to post them.

When I consumed meat I rarely (never?) thought of the meat on my plate as being a slaughtered animal; never thought of leg of lamb as being the leg of a lamb. But it is. A chicken breast is the breast of a chicken. And so on. Sometimes the pictures, which we tend to shy away from, are worth a thousand words.

Ron Paul: "Prepare for the Worst"

Congressman Ron Paul (R, Texas), one of the few voices for fiscal sanity in Washington, says in a new Forbes.com article that we are likely to see a return to the days of the Great Depression of the 1930's. Read why here.

Robert Schuller's New Book Available

I'm happy to see that Amazon is now shipping Robert Schuller's new book. Publisher's Weekly gives it a nice review:

Leaning into God When Life Is Pushing You Away Robert A. Schuller with William Kruidenier. FaithWords, $22.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-446-58098-4

Inspirational author Schuller offers readers who want to respond to adversity with, and through, faith a fine primer on pressing toward God despite pain and problems. Schuller, whose newest ministry is the television and Internet outlet ComStar Media, shares with readers the circumstances of his painful departure from leadership at the Crystal Cathedral founded by his father, Robert H. Schuller, and explains how this life-altering detour caused him to re-examine the foundations of his faith. Stronger from the experience, the author encourages fellow Christians to seek out God especially when life is darkest and confusion greatest. Readers will find solid resources: practical suggestions as well as numerous inspirational stories of real men and women who successfully faced down the giants in their lives. Schuller specifically addresses such issues as guilt, shame, regret, anxiety, disappointment and fear. In each chapter he offers fresh perspective, renewed hope and fresh faith tools for those going through hardship, as well as strong reminders that God is always present and never fails. (Nov.)

"Hey—way to go!"

A Christian ministry I've worked with for years (writing and editing) made public this letter from one of their supporters—a sad story of the loss of a newborn. But I was encouraged to know that the man and his wife were strengthened each day during their loss by reading the daily devotionals that arrive via email from this ministry. I'm one of three writers who produce the devotionals, so I like to think that I played a small part in encouraging this couple spiritually at a time when they needed it.

Here's the letter the father wrote to the ministry. (I've deleted identifying information):

On November 8, our beautiful boys Eli and Evan were born, 10 weeks early. Eli was healthy, but very fragile, and remained at the Baptist Hospital where he was born. Even on the other hand, was very ill... On December 10, Eli came home (he is healthy and growing fast!). The next day, we were faced with a difficult decision and with Evan’s best interest at heart, we decided to cease care. He was quickly going downhill. And we had tried everything we could to save him. The world-renowned doctors and surgeons even treaded uncharted waters of care to save our precious boy.

On December 13, Evan saw our Jesus... While I held him as he passed, the biggest, sweetest smile came over his face. My wife and I will always believe that is the moment he was welcomed into Heaven.

I write all this to say that during this trying time in our lives, the (ministry name) devotions I receive in my email were exactly what I needed for each day. Soon, my wife and I began eagerly checking email daily to see what the devotion said before we would call the hospitals or travel to them. Without fail, every day we received from God’s Word exactly what we needed for that day. It was as if the devotions were written only for us ...

Thank you for your ministry, and may God continue to bless you. To Him be the glory!

(name/location)

Writing is an isolated occupation; one never knows who reads what has been written or how it might have helped (or not) the reader. So it's nice for me—for any of us—to be affirmed occasionally, even anonymously, so we know our time is being well spent.

The above letter also reminds me that I need to be like that father—taking a moment to thank those whose work or talents make a positive impact on my life. Everyone does something each day that is worthy of affirmation. We just need to watch for it and say, "Hey—way to go. Thanks!"

(On my third call to tech support this afternoon a guy helped me tweak my email program so that it now works. I thanked him profusely and told him he had my permission to take the rest of the day off. He laughed.)

Cancers that Go Away

Thanks to Daniel for the heads-up on this interesting NYT article: "Cancers Can Vanish Without Treatment, but How?"

A recent JAMA article reported on the phenomenon of cancers going into remission, disappearing, or not growing—without intervention. The question is, "Why?" Cancer is no longer a death sentence in the world of the AMA. Many in the alternative medicine world have always thought that but it seems the scientists are becoming more aware of the variables that can impact cancer and its progress or remission.

But here is an important warning from the article: "Cancer cells and precancerous cells are so common that nearly everyone by middle age or old age is riddled with them, said Thea Tisty, a professor of pathology at the University of California, San Francisco." Reminds me of a statement a doctor friend made to me many years ago: "The fact is, if we lived long enough we would all die of some sort of cancer." I don't believe that now, but the idea that our bodies are full of actual and potential cancer cells is an agreed-upon thesis. All the more reason to maintain an "inner terrain" that is inhospitable to cancer growth: an alkaline pH, reduced stress, detoxing, etc.

What this article says to me is that some conventional doctors are agreeing that there are more variables in the cancer equation than previously thought. Hopefully they'll make their way to Dr. Colin Campbell's The China Study to learn more about the nutritional variables that can turn cancer on and off.

You Knew It Was Going to Happen

A cushy New England prep/boarding school has turned its library into a coffee bar and replaced the books with Kindles. The headmaster said that the idea behind the switch was to create "a new commons, a new agora, where people in a convivial setting exchange ideas and socially interact around ideas with culture and literature at their fingertips." Right. The three large-screen flat-panel TVs are going to help that process. One observer noted that it is the first time "a school has placed its students' intellectual lives so fully into the hands of a few online publishers and makers of electronic devices."

Oh well. At least they replaced the hard copy books with e-books instead of with Wii's.

It's a good article -- good points on both sides -- available here.

(On such changes, I'm reminded of what the late Charlton Heston said at an NRA meeting concerning efforts to limit the private ownership of firearms in America. Substitute "books" for "guns:" "They'll get my guns when they pry them from my cold, dead hands!" (Massive applause from his audience.) Those of us who love books sort of feel the same way. And probably the Sumerian clay tablet lovers felt the same way when the first vellum and papyrus scrolls were invented; and the scroll lovers when "pages" were invented; and hand-letterers when Gutenberg came along; and now tome-toters in the era of Kindle. Such is the nature of change.)

Kathy Freston: Interview #3 with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn

Kathy Freston, vegan health/nutrition blogger at the Huffington Post, has published her third in a series of interviews with the crème de la crème of M.D.'s who advocate a plant-based (vegan) diet. The first interview was with Dr. Colin Campbell on the subject of cancer; the second was with Dr. Neal Barnard on diabetes.

This third interview is with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic on heart disease. I love this guy! For a taste of where he's coming from here's a snippet from the interview:

KF: Why do you think this information on diet and heart disease is not more widely known? Is someone or something blocking your message?

CE: The government, drug industry, and some of my own profession. The USDA every five years produces a food triangle which promotes the very foods which guarantee that millions of Americans will perish.The drug industry has a $21 billion dollar income from statin drugs alone. The stent manufacturers make billions more. Neither of these industries would want this epidemic resolved. Physicians who perform stents and bypass surgery earn millions and are hardly clamoring for fewer patients.